Last Week in Review: Bitcoin breached $25k, and unexpected reactions to the latest inflation data

by Team Luno
· 3 minute read
Apa Itu Bitcoin Core? Cara Menggunakan Bitcoin Core

The highlights from last week’s headline grabbers. All the important news, numbers and events from the crypto industry in easy-to-read, digestible news bites. 

News from the block

🌽 Bitcoin tops $25,000 for the first time since June last year

  • Market analysts say a short squeeze was partly responsible for last week’s rally that culminated in the price of Bitcoin posting another high for 2023. 
  • A short squeeze happens when investors who have bet against an asset, Bitcoin in this instance, are forced to buy the asset to cover their losses, causing the price to rise suddenly. 
  • The Bitcoin price resettled around $24,500 in the day following the bump above $25,000. 
  • Get comfortable with the basics of Bitcoin ✨ HERE. 

📈 Crypto markets shrugged at latest inflation data 

  • The cost of household goods in the US increased by 0.5% in January, according to the latest Consumer Price Index (CPI) data. CPI is a measure of the average change in the prices of goods and services typically purchased by households, and is a key indicator of inflation. It’s one of a few key indicators the Federal Reserve considers when making interest rate decisions. 
  • The numbers came in higher than expected, which has in the past led to investors selling riskier assets such as crypto and stocks. But this time Bitcoin kept climbing from its base of $21,000 at the time, ending the week above $24,000. 
  • Higher inflation generally means the Fed may have to continue with aggressive interest rate hikes in future, further cooling down the economy and dampening consumer spending potential. 

🔐 Hong Kong plans to open crypto markets to retail clients

  • Hong Kong proposed a relaxation of rules banning retail investors from buying crypto from licensed platforms.
  • Regulators are proposing that investors are allowed to buy large-cap cryptocurrencies. 
  • The latest is in line with officials aiming to position Hong Kong as a financial centre for digital assets, according to The Block. 

🥁 Napster walks again with push into Web3 

  • Remember Napster, the notorious music-sharing network of the early 2000’s? The company recently made a push into Web3 with the purchase of Mint Songs, a platform that helps music artists build Web3 communities, mint songs and offer exclusive art to fans. 
  • Blockchain company Algorand and crypto investment firm Hivemind bought Napster last year “to once again revolutionise the music industry by bringing blockchain and Web3 to artists and fans,” as reported by Blockworks.
  • “Napster feels it can be a great partner to bring many of these new features and business models to the mainstream under an iconic brand,” Napster CEO Jon Vlassopulos said.

TL;Did read

“The exodus from Kazakhstan flipped the network to become a majority clean-energy user.” A Bitcoin Magazine reporter reveals how the Bitcoin mining exodus from one of the largest mining hubs in the world is helping Bitcoin clean up its act. READ HERE

Crunching the numbers

30.9% – Bitcoin is up by more than 30% over the last six months. 

-1.42% – The SP500 is down by more than 1% over six months. 

19.3 million – The amount of Bitcoin currently in circulation – Bitcoin supply is capped at 21 million. 

195% – Venezuela’s projected inflation rate for 2023, one of the highest in the world. 

70% – Uniswap’s (UNI) large slice of market share in the decentralised exchange space. The price of UNI is up by 26% over six months. 

The crypto time capsule

Bitcoin cycles come and go. 

Crypto trivia

The Ethereum Shanghai upgrade is the first major upgrade to Ethereum since the Merge in September last year. The upgrade will allow users who staked Ethereum to withdraw these funds from staking wallets locked since the Merge. 

Worth a watch

The benefits of long-term investing. 

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